


Eisoptrophobia

by ghost_like



Series: 31 Days of Halloween 2k18 [7]
Category: VIXX
Genre: M/M, Phobias, Psychological Horror, When Will My Reflection Show Who I Am Insiiiiiiiide, kim ravi is a supportive bf
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-08
Updated: 2018-10-08
Packaged: 2019-07-27 22:21:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,200
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16228481
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ghost_like/pseuds/ghost_like
Summary: eisoptrophobia:noun;(uncountable)- (rare) Fear of seeing one’s reflection in a mirror.





	Eisoptrophobia

**Author's Note:**

> hi
> 
> today's prompt was "phobia"  
> hyukvi in @sanghyuq's honor ~~even though they don't deserve it, that disrespectful child~~
> 
> enjoy! ♡

“Pardon my bluntness, Sanghyuk,” said the psychologist, a pretty woman in her late thirties with keen eyes and a fancy burgundy cardigan, “but you have been avoiding the main reason why you’re here, and the session is almost over.”

“A-ah, yes, I— I have, I’m sorry,” Sanghyuk quickly apologized, bowing his head respectfully. “It’s just— It’s a little embarrassing.”

“No problem is embarrassing in my office,” she said, smiling gently at him. “I am not here to judge you, I am here to help you.”

“Right,” Sanghyuk muttered and inhaled deeply through his nose, exhaling through parted lips. “Thing is— You see, ever since I was young, I— I have this… This fear of… Mirrors.”

The psychologist didn’t laugh like he was expecting. Most people did, once they learned this. “And what is it about mirrors that scares you?”

“I don’t know,” Sanghyuk said, more at ease now that he was being taken seriously. “I— I’m scared I’ll look into a mirror and— Not see myself, you know? See someone else instead of me.”

The woman nodded slowly, humming as she pondered over Sanghyuk’s problem. Leaning forward to rest her forearms on the desk, fingers laced together, she said, “The phobia you have is rare, but so are most phobias. The way to overcome a fear like yours is by facing the object of your fear, a little bit at a time until you are comfortable enough to be around mirrors without worrying about it anymore.”

“So I can fix it?” Sanghyuk asked, eyes shiny with hope, and the doctor smiled widely at him.

“Yes, you can fix it,” she said with a nod. “We will schedule a few regular sessions for us to dig deeper and find the reasons behind your fear, perhaps find the root of it, which will make it significantly easier to treat it. For now, I will give you an assignment.”

Sanghyuk almost groaned; weren’t the assignments from his university courses enough already?

“You don’t have to do it today, this is something to be done at your pace and according to your level of comfort,” she continued. “You can choose to do this alone or in the company of someone you trust. The assignment is to try and see your reflection in the mirror gradually, one part of your body at a time.”

Sanghyuk frowned. “Like, my hands and my feet and my legs and such?”

“Yes, precisely!” she exclaimed, looking pleased. “You can start with your hands, as they are the part of your body easiest to see with or without a mirror. That way you can compare both your hands and their reflection, and see that they are the same.”

Sanghyuk agreed with an awkward motion of his head. “Alright, I… I think I can do that.”

He didn’t want to, though.

The session ended soon after that, the doctor giving him some more tips on how to deal with his fear and directing him to schedule his next appointment with her secretary at the front desk.

The surface of the front desk was made of a highly reflective metal, though.

He’d call later to schedule the appointment. No biggie.

Leaving the office, Sanghyuk walked back into the reception to find Wonshik waiting for him in one of the fancy white couches, bouncing his leg agitatedly and looking around like a fish out of water. Upon noticing Sanghyuk’s return, he all but jumped out of his seat and zoomed to his side.

“Tell me we can go now, there was this old lady here and I think she was hitting on me,” Wonshik whispered urgently next to his ear, causing Sanghyuk to chuckle.

“Yeah, we can go.”

The pair made their way through the cozy reception room and passed the front desk, where they politely said their goodbyes to the secretary before stepping into the elevator. Sanghyuk made sure to keep his gaze on the ground - all walls in the elevator had mirrors.

Wonshik noticed his tension and covered Sanghyuk’s eyes with one hand, uncomfortable as that was with their height difference, all the way from the 27th floor where they were until they had reached the garage level. Wonshik only uncovered his eyes once they had properly left the confines of the elevator and were in the soothing, unreflective concrete of the garage going towards his boyfriend’s car, Wonshik’s hand now moving to take hold of Sanghyuk’s own, fingers entwined.

“How was it?” he asked, and Sanghyuk gave him a disinterested shrug.

“It was fine. She said I can fix it and that I have to do some exercises to get rid of my fear.”

“Exercises? What kind of exercises?”

“Like, seeing one part of my body in the mirror at a time.”

“Huh. And that will help?”

“I guess we’ll see.”

 

***

 

It’s been several weeks since Sanghyuk started with the exercises, sometimes doing them with Wonshik’s help, sometimes on his own. He was surprised that it was actually helping - he wasn’t flinching at reflective surfaces anymore, although he still avoided them, and the episodes of panic he would sometimes experience due to his phobia had decreased significantly.

He felt ready to take the biggest step on the exercises that night.

“Are you sure, babe?” Wonshik asked, pausing his game to look up at Sanghyuk. “You don’t have to force yourself to do it if you don’t feel comfortable.”

“I’m fine,” Sanghyuk said and smiled at his boyfriend. “I’ll call you if I need you.”

“I’ll be here,” Wonshik promised with a reassuring smile of his own, and with that, Sanghyuk padded to the bathroom, taking one deep breath with each step.

He didn’t bother closing the door; Wonshik had been with him through the exercises so many times that he didn’t feel self-conscious about it, and simply switched on the light and walked in to stand in front of the sink counter, the mirror hanging above it covered by a dark blue towel. If anything, Sanghyuk wanted to get rid of his fear soon so he wouldn’t have to force Wonshik to adapt to his needs of covering every reflective surface.

Still taking deep breaths, his way of steeling himself for what was to come, Sanghyuk raised his hands to feel his own facial features. The shape of his nose, the smooth plane of his forehead, his eyelids, his cheeks, his lips, his chin. He went as far as to even feel his teeth, blunt and straight.

Once he felt like he’d covered everything, not leaving even his ears out of his exploration, he took one last deep breath and, like a bandaid, pulled the towel away from the mirror in a quick motion before he chickened out.

He didn’t open his eyes right away, giving himself another moment to gather his courage. Once he finally did, he gasped.

Bright red eyes stared back at him, sharp teeth peeking behind his lips. Long horns sprouted from the top of his head, curving back like a goat’s. His ears were pointy, much longer than they were when he felt them just seconds ago.

Sanghyuk exhaled shakily. Then smiled.

How relieving it was to actually see himself staring back in that reflection.

**Author's Note:**

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